COS Financial Plan 2018 - 2022

FINANCIAL PLANNING PROCESS

AMENDMENT TO THE FINANCIAL PLAN AFTER THE FINAL ADOPTION In certain instances, Financial Plan appropriations may be amended after Council has adopted the Plan. Any changes made after the Financial Plan Bylaw has been adopted require a Financial Plan Revision Bylaw. Changes are tracked during the year and new spending is temporarily funded through contingencies. At the end of the year, Council adopts a revised Financial Plan Bylaw to incorporate these changes.

BASIS OF BUDGETING AND FINANCIAL PLANNING POLICIES

The City uses an accrual basis for budgeting that reports income when earned and expenses when incurred, matching income with their related expenses. In addition, the Financial Plan has been prepared based on the Legislative British Columbia Community Charter which differs from the City’s Audited Financial Statements that are prepared under Public presentation. Those differences include:  Reporting for expenditures, including all transfers to other funds and authorities; and Sector Accounting Board (PSAB) guidelines for financial statement This Financial Plan has been prepared using the Principles of Municipal Governance as outlined in the Community Charter, Section 1. The rationale for incorporating a set of principles into a decision-making process of public office is twofold. First, principles provide structure and commonality in situations where the interests and objectives of affected parties differ. Second, explicit reference to principles makes the political decision process more comprehensible, which in turn fosters a greater degree of public confidence.

 The treatment of capital expenditures, which differ from the financial statements where all capital expenditures are capitalized as assets. Other Financial Planning policies include:  The Consolidated Financial Plan includes all components and represents all revenues and expenditures that the City intends to make for the period; and  Appropriated surplus monies potentially available for appropriation by individual departments are included in the respective departmental financial plans. Appropriated surplus funds that are not retained by individual departments are recorded separately. The City has developed a set of principles to guide the financial planning process and the preparation of operating and capital plans. Individually, each principle represents an objective, which is deemed to have positive consequences for the City over the long-term. Collectively, these principles provide a reference for aligning financial planning objectives with other City objectives, thereby helping to preserve the ongoing financial health of the City. These principles are of two types: those related to both the Capital and the Operating Financial Plan and those specific to the Operating Plan.

FINANCIAL PLANNING PRINCIPLES

the future lives here.

2018-2022 Financial Plan

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